AFL-CIO Condemns AT&T for End-Run Around Institutional Shareholders.Business Editors/Hi-Tech Writers WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 15, 2001 Today, the AFL-CIO AFL-CIO: see American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations. AFL-CIO in full American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations U.S. condemned AT&T (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :T) for what it views as its attempt to deprive shareholders of meaningful oversight of AT&T management's controversial breakup breakup The division of a company into separate parts. The most famous breakup to date was the 1984 division of AT&T (formerly, American Telephone & Telegraph Company). This breakup was intended to increase competition in the communications industry. plan. The AFL-CIO announcement comes in response to a preliminary proxy statement Proxy Statement A document containing the information that a company is required by the SEC to provide to shareholders so they can make informed decisions about matters that will be brought up at an annual stockholder meeting. that AT&T filed yesterday with the Securities and Exchange Commission in which the company proposes to amend its charter to reduce the approval threshold for mergers and asset dispositions from two-thirds to a simple majority of outstanding shares. The proposed charter amendment follows the October 25, 2000 announcement by the telecommunications giant that it is planning to breakup into three separate companies and four publicly listed securities Listed Security Securities that have been accepted for trading purposes by a recognized and regulated exchange. Notes: Listed securities have the advantage of higher liquidity within a regulated environment. . "By proposing the charter amendment before it provides meaningful disclosure on the controversial restructuring, AT&T is essentially asking shareholders to relinquish an important right before they have enough information to decide if they want to exercise that right," said Richard Trumka Richard Trumka is a leader in the American labor movement. He currently serves as the Secretary-Treasurer of the AFL-CIO, a post to which he was elected in 1995. He previously was president of the United Mine Workers from 1982 to December 22, 1995. , Secretary-Treasurer of the AFL-CIO. The AFL-CIO Office of Investment, which works with 1,500 union-sponsored pension funds that collectively hold 25 million AT&T shares, has previously raised a number of troubling concerns about AT&T's controversial breakup plan. During a February 8th conference call with institutional shareholders holding over 20% of outstanding shares, the Office of Investment said the plan would destroy shareholder value by undermining AT&T's unique strengths and ignoring the underlying problems responsible for AT&T's disappointing performance. Shareholders will vote on the proposed charter amendment at the company's Annual Meeting of Shareholders on May 23, 2001. "This is a critical vote on AT&T's corporate governance Corporate Governance The relationship between all the stakeholders in a company. This includes the shareholders, directors, and management of a company, as defined by the corporate charter, bylaws, formal policy, and rule of law. that seeks to undermine the ability of institutional investors to challenge AT&T's restructuring plans," said Mr. Trumka. "Institutional investors will need to work together to protect our right to a meaningful say in AT&T's breakup decision. We will be reaching out to institutional shareholders in the coming weeks to do just that." |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion